The Explora arrived on our desk this month, on of the first dispatched from Pritchett Street. It is a long-anticipated ode to Westley Richards, in words and images, put into physical form by Anthony Alborough-Tregear, the firm’s Managing Director.
As with everything Westley Richards create, it is visually stunning and tactile, with a blend of matt and gloss paper finishes and professional photography of the highest standard throughout.
The content explores the company, its current gun makers, its history and ethos. I takes readers through the worlds inhabited by the many collectors, hunters and professionals intricately linked to the firm through its guns and other products.
A repeated theme, subtly woven into the fabric of The Explora is a respectful affection for the man who brought Westley Richards back into the first rank of British gunmakers; Simon Clode, to whom it is dedicated.
Whatever Westly Richards is today, Simon Clode made it that way. He had the vision, the business sense, the talent and the drive to re-create a premier class gunmaker out of a company that had lost confidence in its products and history to some degree.
Today, that vision is carried forward by Anthony Alborough-Tregear, who was befriended by Simon in 1993, at the London Antique Arms Fair, and went-on to work for him in several capacities, before eventually succeeding him, upon Simon’s un-timely death in 2016.
The Explora is the proud showpiece of a confident company, mature and successful, yet not content to tread water, however pleasant it may be. Rather, this is a statement of intent. ‘Here we are, Simon Clode has left us, but what he has left us is strong and growing. Come and do business.’
The Explora is available to buy, as a strictly limited edition, direct from Westley Richards. The price is £35. It will sell-out quickly, so, if you want one, don’t wait too long.
Published by Vintage Guns Ltd on
